What to do when the nails on your hands and feet break and break?

No one can say exactly what to do if nails are peeling and breaking, treatment is prescribed by a doctor. It is determined by the diagnosis established by the results of the studies, and should affect not only the nail plates themselves, but also the entire body, in order to eradicate the immediate cause of the disorder.

What medications can a doctor recommend?

• Treatment tactics for vitamin, macro- and microelement deficiencies in the body come down to replenishing the necessary substances and amino acids. To correct the balance, it is necessary to make qualitative changes to the diet, and, if necessary, take a course of special multivitamin complexes.
• Treatment tactics for systemic disorders in the body are determined depending on which organ or system is affected. For example, nails often exfoliate and break after a long course of antibiotic therapy, as well as in diseases of the liver, pancreas or thyroid gland. Thus, treatment is prescribed in accordance with the underlying pathology. In this case, the necessary medications should be taken simultaneously with changes in the diet.
• If nails have started to flake and break due to the aggressive influence of chemicals and cleaning agents, it is necessary to pay special attention to preventive measures: it is necessary to wear protective gloves that prevent direct contact of skin and nails with chemical agents and water. If you neglect this rule, then any treatment will not bring the expected positive result.
• If the problem with the nails arose due to a violation of the manicure technology, then the best way to treat it is to change the master to a more qualified specialist. If you previously did your manicure yourself, then it makes sense to change the tools to higher quality ones, or visit a nail salon for such a procedure. To improve the condition of your nails, you can try folk methods, which we will discuss below.

How to strengthen nails if they peel and break?

Depending on the underlying cause of brittle and splitting nails, your doctor may prescribe the following medications:

	Method of administration and dosage	Side effects	Special instructions
Levomekol	The ointment is rubbed into the nails and surrounding skin in the morning and evening for 4 days.	Rarely – allergy, itching, dermatitis.	Antibacterial and immunostimulant. Not recommended for use for more than 5-7 days.
Castor oil	Rub into brittle nails every night until the plate is completely restored.	Very rarely – allergic reaction.	The oil softens, nourishes, heals, strengthens tissues. It can be used externally at any age.
Exoderil	Apply directly to the nail plates twice a day. Before applying, their surface must be cleaned and treated with an antiseptic.	Very rarely – dry skin, local irritation.	The ointment effectively combats dermatomycosis, onychomycosis, and candidiasis, which can cause brittle and peeling nails.
Solcoseryl	The ointment or jelly is rubbed into the affected nail plates in the morning and evening. The duration of treatment is determined by the positive dynamics of recovery.	Rarely – slight burning sensation of the skin in the area where the product is applied.	A product that improves local metabolic processes and accelerates tissue regeneration.
Heliomycin	The ointment is applied to the damaged areas twice a day for a week or more.	Very rarely – allergic reaction.	Heliomycin has antibacterial and antiviral effects and is low-toxic.

Recommended vitamins and complex preparations:

Vitrum Beauty	The tablets are taken whole, after meals, one tablet three times a day.
Ladies Formula	Take one capsule twice a day with food. The course is no less than a month.
Doppelherz Active	Can be taken orally from the age of 14, one tablet per day, after meals. The optimal course duration is 1 month.
Aevit	The contents of the capsule are applied to the nail plates daily, before bedtime. The duration of treatment is at least two weeks. At the same time, the drug can be taken orally (one capsule daily, with food).
Complivit radiance	Take one tablet with breakfast for four weeks.
Perfectil Plus	The complex preparation consists of a course of tablets and capsules. Take one tablet and one capsule per day, with food. The treatment should last one month.

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Physiotherapy treatment

Doctors do not often use physiotherapy procedures to eliminate splitting and brittle nails. However, there are several methods that allow you to restore your nail plates and return them to a healthy appearance in a relatively short time.

• Paraffin therapy.

Special paraffin applications or baths demonstrate a long-lasting visible effect. The procedure itself takes no more than thirty minutes. The course of paraffin therapy includes 5-10 sessions, depending on the severity of the problem.

• Sealing of nail plates.

A relatively new sealing procedure involves applying special substances or masses to the damaged plates, which provide saturation of the nail tissue with the necessary useful components. A mixture of wax with copper, mineral oils, biogel, wax with mineral oil can be used as such a mass. As a rule, treatment with such procedures is carried out for a month.

• Massage treatments.

Massage can be done both in a special room and at home. It is advisable to additionally use strengthening oils, nourishing creams, which are rubbed into the nail plate and accelerate recovery.

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Treatment at home

If your nails are flaking and breaking due to a lack of calcium in the body, the following recipe will help to correct the situation: collect the shells of chicken eggs, wash them and dry them thoroughly. Then finely crumble them and heat them in the oven for 10 minutes (or in a dry frying pan, stirring constantly). After that, grind the shells in a coffee grinder or mortar to a powder state, pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Store the product in the refrigerator, using one teaspoon at a time for a couple of weeks.

In addition, you should diversify your diet with healthy foods. For example, few people know that calcium is present not only in dairy products. A huge amount of it is found in greens: dill, mint and celery leaves, parsley. Other foods rich in calcium are:

• caraway and fennel seeds, tarragon, thyme;
• poppy and sesame seeds, flax and sunflower seeds;
• walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds;
• soy, tofu cheese;
• seaweed.

For better absorption of calcium, it is necessary to walk more often in the fresh air, preferably in sunny weather, play active games, and harden yourself.

Folk remedies

Folk recipes help to get rid of many health problems. The situation when nails exfoliate and break, their appearance deteriorates is no exception. Many methods are known to solve this problem, and each of them is effective in its own way:

• Taking warm baths with olive oil really does wonders. You can add oil to warm water and hold your hands in it for 10-15 minutes, or you can just steam your nails a little in warm (not hot!) water, and then rub a little olive oil into the plates. The procedures are repeated daily (preferably at night) for 14 days.
• Rubbing lemon juice into nails that break and flake, as well as wiping them with lemon peel, allows you to saturate the tissues with all the necessary nutrients. The effectiveness of the procedure is due to the presence of essential oils and vitamins in the peel. In just 1-2 weeks, your nails will become strong, and the problem of fragility will disappear.
• Using iodine to apply to damaged nail plates is a fairly common way to strengthen them. Iodine is applied to the nail in the evening so that the product is absorbed in the morning and does not leave an unpleasant yellow mark. Experts say that sometimes 5-6 procedures are enough for nails to stop breaking and peeling.
• Massage with sea salt helps to forget about brittle nails for a long time. Take coarse sea salt and rub it into wet nail plates and the area around them. The massage should last about 10 minutes, daily, for 1-2 weeks. After the procedure, rinse your hands with warm water and apply nourishing cream.

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Herbal treatment

As an alternative help for nails that are peeling and breaking, treatment with medicinal plants can come. If you follow all the nuances of the recipe, then you can restore the nail plate with such means in 10-15 days.

• Aloe arborescens juice is applied to clean washed and dried nails, protective gloves are put on top, and left for 1-2 hours. Then hands are washed with warm water. Repeat daily.
• Brew chamomile tea (approximately 1 teaspoon of dry crushed plant per 200 ml of boiling water), add 1 teaspoon of soda and the same amount of sea salt. Keep your fingers in the warm solution for half an hour. Repeat the procedure daily.
• Grind burdock and plantain stems (any amount) in a meat grinder, add a little honey and turmeric. Dip your fingers into the resulting mass and hold for 15-20 minutes, then wash your hands in warm water (without detergent). It is better to do the procedure at night. You need to prepare a fresh product every day.
• Grind one medium clove of garlic, mix with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 50 ml of milk. Soak your nails in the resulting mixture for 20 minutes, preferably before bed. At the same time, it is recommended to lightly massage your nails: this will allow the beneficial substances to penetrate the tissues faster.

Homeopathy

When nails are flaking and breaking, the most effective homeopathic remedies are Conium 3, Thuja 3X (taken three times a day, the dosage is specified individually by a homeopathic doctor).

In addition, other homeopathic preparations can be recommended:

• Silicia 30-6-3
• Graphite 6-3
• Acidum fluoricum 6-12
• Causticum 3

Alternating the preparations Conium 3 and Thuja 3X on different days produces a good effect.

The listed products are well accepted by patients. There are practically no side effects, except for isolated cases when allergic reactions to one or another drug developed.

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